System and method for distributed management of storage systems based on subscription changes

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems for managing distributed systems are disclosed. The distributed systems may include any number of data processing systems that may contribute to the functionality of the distributed system. To contribute to the functionality of the distributed system, each of the data processing systems may need to be configured to positively contribute to one or more functions. During configuration, one or more disablement actions may be put in place to limit use of the functions based on predetermined limits. However, the disablement actions may still provide some degree of access to stored data even after being performed.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSED EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments disclosed herein relate generally to distributed management. More particularly, embodiments disclosed herein relate to systems and methods for distributed control plane management of distributed systems.

BACKGROUND

Computing devices may store data and used stored data. For example, computing devices may utilize data when providing computer implemented services. The ability of computing devices to perform different types of computer implemented services may depend on the types and quantities of available computing resources.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments disclosed herein are illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram illustrating a system in accordance with an embodiment.

FIGS. 2A-2F show data flow diagrams illustrating data used and processing performed by a system in accordance with an embodiment.

FIGS. 3A-3E show flow diagrams illustrating methods of providing computer implemented services in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram illustrating a data processing system in accordance with an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments and aspects disclosed herein will be described with reference to details discussed below, and the accompanying drawings will illustrate the various embodiments. The following description and drawings are illustrative of the embodiments disclosed herein and are not to be construed as limiting the embodiments disclosed herein. Numerous specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments of embodiments disclosed herein. However, in certain instances, well-known or conventional details are not described in order to provide a concise discussion of embodiments disclosed herein.

Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in conjunction with the embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment disclosed herein. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment.

References to an “operable connection” or “operably connected” means that a particular device is able to communicate with one or more other devices. The devices themselves may be directly connected to one another or may be indirectly connected to one another through any number of intermediary devices, such as in a network topology.

In general, embodiments disclosed herein relate to methods and systems for managing distributed system. The distributed system may include any number of data processing systems that may contribute to the functionality of the distributed system. To contribute to the functionality of the distributed system, each of the data processing systems may need to be configured in a manner that allows the data processing systems to contribute to providing one or more functionalities.

To manage configuration of data processing system, a distributed control plane may be utilized. The distributed control plane may vest decision making authority at different levels of a hierarchy used to manage the data processing systems.

The distributed control plane may allow management entities to receive information regarding the intents of users that may desire to receive services from the data processing systems, and decide on roles to be implemented to meet the intents of the users.

The roles may be defined by an intermediate representation that does not rigidly express how each of the data processing systems is to be configured, the software to be hosted by the data processing systems, etc. Rather, the roles may define metrics usable to evaluate the capability of a data processing system with a particular configuration to take on a role.

The intermediate representation may be based on an intent for user of services provided using the data processing systems. In a scenario in which the intent relates to storage services, additional information regarding whether the storage services are likely to be used by other service may be obtained and used to refine an understanding of the intent of the user of the services to be provided by the data processing systems. The additional information may reflect the other services as well as the system which will provide the other services. The information may be used to select roles for the intermediate representation that, when implemented, are less likely to result in the storage services limiting the other services.

The intermediate representation may allow groups of data processing systems (e.g., a deployment) to establish their respective configurations for providing services requested by a user. The ability to perform the respective roles may be self-evaluated by the data processing systems that may perform the respective roles. However, not all data processing systems may include this capability. Data processing systems that lack this ability may be assigned to assist data processing systems that do include this ability to perform roles.

When configuring data processing systems based on the intermediate representation, one or more disablement actions with corresponding criteria may be put in place to limit subsequent use of the services (e.g., based on service limits). The disablement actions may be automatically implemented by the data processing systems when the corresponding criteria is met. The disablement actions, in the context of storage services, may limit but not entirely prevent access to stored data.

By doing so, embodiments disclosed herein may improve the reliability of services provided by data processing systems. For example, in the context of storage services, by continuing to provide some level of access to stored data after a limit has been reached on use of the services (e.g., such as a subscription limit), important services that rely on the storage services may still continue to be provided.

In an embodiment, a computer-implemented method for managing services provided using data processing systems is provided. The method may include identifying a change to a subscription for a service of the services provided using the data processing systems; making a first determination regarding whether the subscription is for storage services; in an instance of the first determination where the subscription is for storage services: making a second determination regarding whether the change is an enhancement of the subscription; in an instance of the second determination where the change is not the enhancement of the subscription: performing an action set to limit use of the services based on the change to the subscription without depriving a client of all access to data managed by the storage services.

Performing the action set may include reconfiguring a storage controller hosted by a data processing system of the data processing systems to obtain a reconfigured storage controller, the reconfigured storage controller having asymmetric read performance and write performance to limit access to the data.

Performing the action set may include reassigning a storage controller hosted by a data processing system of the data processing systems to process data access requests from other clients to obtain a reconfigured storage controller, the reconfigured storage controller limiting access to the data.

Performing the action set may include reconfiguring a network that connects a data processing system of the data processing systems to a storage device to reduce allocated bandwidth for traffic between the data processing system and the storage device, the reduced allocation of the bandwidth limiting access to the data.

Performing the action set may include reconfiguring a storage manager of a data processing system of the data processing systems to reduce a number of access options for the data.

Reducing the number of access options may include preventing parallel read on a volume used to provide the storage services.

Reducing the number of access options may further include preventing parallel writes on the volume used to provide the storage services.

Reducing the number of access options may further include preventing metadata reads on the volume used to provide the storage services.

Performing the action set may include converting a redundant array of disks implementation to a high reliability, low accessibility implementation, the redundant array of disks implementation providing redundancy for data stored as part of the storage services.

In an instance of the change in the subscription where the change is an expiration of the subscription, performing the action set include automatically implementing a disablement action by a data processing system of the data processing systems, the disablement action being scheduled for performance as part of establishing the subscription.

In an embodiment, a non-transitory media may include instructions that when executed by a processor cause the computer-implemented method to be performed is provided.

In an embodiment, a data processing system may include the non-transitory media and a processor, and may perform the computer-implemented method when the computer instructions are executed by the processor is provided.

Turning to FIG. 1 , a block diagram illustrating a system in accordance with an embodiment is shown. The system shown in FIG. 1 may facilitate performance of workloads (e.g., computer-implemented workloads performed by executing computing instructions with at least one processor of one or more data processing systems). The system may include, but is not limited to, one or more clients 100, deployment 110, and a communication system 105 that facilitates operable connections between all, or a portion, of the components illustrated in FIG. 1 . Each of these components is discussed below.

All, or a portion, of clients 102-104 may provide services to users of clients 100 and/or to other devices operably connected to clients 100. To provide services (e.g., computer implemented services) to users or other devices, clients 100 may utilize services provided by deployment 110. Deployment 110 may provide any type and quantity of computer implemented services. The computer implemented services provided by deployment 110 may be specified by clients 100 and/or other entities.

In addition to services provided by deployment 110, clients 100 may utilize client resources 101 to provide services to user or other devices. Client resources 101 may include hardware devices and may host software that may provide the services. Clients 100 may manage client resources 101 to provide desired services.

Client resources 101, like clients 100, may utilize services provided by deployment 110 during operation. For example, client resources 101 may host software that provides a first service that utilizes a second service provided by deployment 110. Thus, the quality of services provided by client resources 101 may depend on the services provided by deployment 110. For example, if the services provided by deployment 110 are insufficient to meet the needs of the services provided by client resources 101, then the services provided by client resources 101 may be impaired.

To provide the computer implemented services to clients 100 and/or client resources 101, deployment 110 may include any number of data processing systems 112-113. The data processing systems may each provide respective computer implemented services. The data processing systems may provide similar and/or different computer implemented services. All, or a portion, of the computer implemented services may be provided cooperatively by multiple data processing systems while other computer implemented services may be provided independently by various data processing systems.

In aggregate, the computer implemented services provided by deployment 110 may provide one or more overall solutions (e.g., a solution architecture, a solution service, etc.). An overall solution may be provided when deployment 110 provides one or more predetermined services.

For example, consider a scenario where deployment 110 provides tiered data storage services to clients 100. To provide the tiered data storage services, data processing systems 112-113 may need to (i) intake data, (ii) select a storage location for data, (iii) preprocess the data prior to storage (e.g., deduplication), (iv) store the data in the storage location, and (v) migrate the data between storage locations so as to properly tier the data as its relevance/importance changes over time. To provide functionalities (i)-(v), various data processing systems of deployment 110 may need to be appropriately configured (e.g., specific hardware settings, software settings, firmware, operating systems, service applications, etc.) with some data processing systems being configured differently.

However, depending on the capabilities of data processing systems 112-113, any of the data processing systems may not be able to be configured in accordance with a static or rigid specification. For example, any of the data processing systems may lack hardware or functionalities to provide certain services as part of a solution architecture, any of the hardware may already be in use for other types of services and may not be reconfigurable (e.g., without impacting the already-provided services), any of the data processing systems may lack certain software or may host software that may conflict with software specified for a static configuration, etc.

Further, to provide aggregate functionality, data processing systems 112-113 may need to perform various functions that complement one another. If one of these functionalities is not provided, then the aggregate functionality may be impaired (e.g., provided at a lesser level of quality than desired, not provided at all, etc.).

Additionally, deployment 110 may be implemented as an edge system where resources (e.g., power, computing capability, etc.) and connectivity (e.g., between data processing systems 111, deployment manager 106, and clients 100) is limited and/or intermittent. Accordingly, the capabilities of the system of FIG. 1 may change dynamically over time.

In general, embodiments disclosed herein relate to systems, methods, and devices for managing the configurations of data processing systems of a deployment to provide services desired by user of clients. The configurations of the data processing systems may be managed using an intermediate representation of roles that, when fulfilled, are likely to successfully effectuate an intent of a user that requests that a solution service or architecture (and/or other expression of intent) be provided.

Rather than specifying static or rigid configurations, the intermediate representation of the roles may be used to evaluate whether a data processing system may be configured in various manners to perform any of the roles. The intermediate representation of the roles may be used by a distributed control plane to identify and configure data processing systems to effectuate the intent of the user.

The intermediate representation may be established based on input (e.g., intent data) from one or more users from an organization (e.g., a client). For example, the users may provide information regarding desired services.

Because some services that clients wish to provide using client resources 101 may depend on the services provided by deployment 110, information regarding intended uses and/or use cases for services provided by deployment 110 may be solicited. The information may be used to refine the intermediate representation so that the services provided by client resources 101 are less likely to be limited by the services provided by deployment 110.

For example, consider a scenario in which a client plans to provide access to a virtual environment using client resources 101. Such services may require storage and accessing of large amounts of data beyond that capable of being managed by client resources 101. To implement the virtual environment services, the client may request that deployment 110 provide data storage services for client resources 101. To ensure that the data storage services provided by deployment 110 are more likely to meet the needs of consumers of the data storage services, information regarding the use of the services may be solicited. In this example scenario, that virtual environment services will be provided. In contrast to other types of services that may not require high data storage transaction rates, virtual world services may require high transaction rates. Based on this identification, the intermediate representation may be established so that a data storage architecture capable of supporting both the quantity and transaction rates for virtual services is implemented by deployment 110 (e.g., as opposed to other architectures that may merely meet data storage quantity expectations that may be explicitly signaled by a requestor).

The representation of the roles may be used, for example, to identify performance metrics (or other types of information) usable to grade and/or otherwise rank the abilities of data processing systems to perform the roles. The grades, ranking, and/or other types of quantifications of ability to perform roles may be used to provisionally select which of the data processing systems to perform various roles.

The quantifications may be self-obtained by the data processing systems that may take on the roles of the intermediate representation. However, not all data processing system may be able to self-evaluate their own capabilities. For example, self-evaluation may require certain hardware (e.g., management controllers) or software (e.g., management agents) be available on a data processing system. Data processing systems that do not self-evaluate their own capabilities may be treated as being incapable of taking on a role independently, but may be used to supplement the capabilities of another data processing system (e.g., that does include self-evaluation capabilities) when performing a role.

The provisional selections may take into account both the self-evaluated capabilities of the data processing systems as well as estimated capabilities if a data processing system that self-evaluated its capabilities was authorized to supplement its capabilities through use of another data processing system (e.g., thereby forming an aggregate capability that may be sufficient to take on roles that the data processing system that self-evaluated its own capabilities would have considered itself unable to take on and perform successfully). The provisional selections may then be used to propose roles (e.g., as part of a deployment plan) that each of the data processing systems may perform. The proposals may serve as a basis for negotiation regarding which data processing systems will perform the roles.

The negotiation process may, if impasses are reached, include modifying goals and expectations associated with services to be provided to the requestors. For example, if none of the data processing systems that have been provisionally selected to perform the role agree to take on the role, then the data processing systems that have reported the ability to perform a role as a member of a may be considered for the role. If agreements can be reached, then some data processing systems may be forced to accept the proposals.

Once agreements have been reached, the data processing systems may be configured to perform the roles through a subscription based system. Once confirmed, the configured data processing systems may provide computer implemented services that are likely to meet an intent of a requestor.

As part of configuring the data processing systems, one or more disablement actions my be put in placed based on limits on the services indicated by the user. These disablement actions may automatically modify the operation of the data processing system once criteria (e.g., time limits, use limits, etc.) for the disablement actions are met. In this manner, limits on subscriptions for services may be automatically enforced by the system.

However, in scenarios in which the services provided relate to data storage, the disablement actions may not entirely prevent access to data stored as part of provided storage services. Rather, the disablement actions my limit access to the data and/or storage services thereby encouraging clients for which the data storage services are provided to review their subscriptions. Because any of data processing systems 112-113 may be placed in locations managed by clients 100, future access to the data processing systems (e.g., physical, network, etc.) may be limited. By placing the disablement actions in place concurrently with establishment of subscriptions (e.g., for which access to the data processing systems may be required), the disablement actions may be more likely to be automatically performed.

Refer to FIGS. 2A-2F for additional details regarding management of data processing systems to provide desired computer implemented services.

By virtue of the distributed nature of the control plane used to manage the configurations of data processing systems 111, various portions of the distributed control plane may be isolated, disconnected, and/or otherwise unable to communicate with other portions of the distributed control plane. For example, deployment manager 106 and the portion of the distributed control plane hosted by it may be unable to communicate with the portions of the distributed control plane hosted by deployment 110 if connectivity between deployment 110 and communication system 105 is limited. Such scenarios may occur, for example, in edge and/or other types of computing environments that may have more limited connectivity to core communication systems such as communication system 105.

When unable to communicate with other portions of the distributed control plane, the isolated portions of the control plane may (i) operate independently until communication is restored, (ii) use information included in the intermediate representations to establish a temporary set of rules and procedures for operation while isolated, and (iii) while out of communication, may treat all decisions as being temporary until ratified or otherwise validated by the other portions of the control plane upon restoration of communications. To establish a temporary set of rules and procedure, the intermediate representation may, in addition to defining roles for providing services, define roles for managing independent operation of the isolated portion of the control plane.

For example, the intermediate representation may define a set of roles to be performed by data processing systems of a deployment while isolated from the rest of the control plane. The roles may include, for example, (i) a leader tasked with selecting roles for data processing systems, (ii) a validator tasked with independently validating that the data processing systems that take on roles perform them in accordance with metrics that define successful performance of the roles, and (iii) a reporter tasked with independently recording information regarding the performed roles while the deployment is isolated and providing information regarding the performance of the roles once communication with the remainder of the control plane is reestablished.

Like the other roles, these management roles may be selected based on the intent provided by the users. For example, the finalized intent may be used to prioritize use of limited resources for management or service purposes. If the expressed intent of the users indicates, for example, a high degree of reliability, then management roles may be scaled to be larger in number thereby dedicating more resources for management purposes.

By dedicating more resources for management purposes, the resulting local control plane may be better able to (i) resolve device failures or other issues through workload relocation, (ii) may have a larger reserve of resources for responding to failures in provided services (e.g., the management roles may include some quantities of resources reserved for responding to service failures), and/or (iii) otherwise improve the likelihood of services provided meeting client expectations.

By doing so, embodiments disclosed herein may provide a system that is more likely to meet the intents of requestors while providing flexibility in deployment and management. By avoiding use of rigid configurations for roles and top down management, the system may facilitate distributed management of data processing systems even while portions of the data processing systems are out of communication with portions of control planes. Accordingly, embodiments disclosed herein may provide an improved computing system that is able to provide desired services under a broader array of operating conditions that may intermittently impair functionality of the system such as communication functionality.

To provide the above noted functionality, the system of FIG. 1 may include deployment manager 106. Deployment manager 106 may (i) obtain information (e.g., intents) regarding services to be provided to clients 100 and/or finalize the intent through one or more procedures (e.g., to identify how certain services will be used by a client), (ii) generate intermediate representations based on the obtained information regarding the intents for the clients, (iii) distribute the intermediate representations to deployment 110 for implementation, (iv) store information (e.g., subscriptions) regarding data processing systems of deployment 110 used to implement the services for clients 100 and put in place subscriptions that manage subsequent use of the services for clients 100, and/or (v) manage the data processing systems used to provide the services to ensure that the services are provided in a manner that meet the expectations of the users of clients 100, as well as agreed upon limitations. When doing so, deployment manager 106 may operate as a member of a distributed control plane that extends down to data processing systems 111.

The distributed control plane may vest decision making authority, at least in part, at different levels within the distributed control plane and modify that decision making authority responsive to changes in operable connectivity between the different levels of the distributed control plane. For example, deployment manager 106 may have authority to define an intermediate representation that data processing systems (e.g., 112-113) will implement. Other portions of the distributed control plane may have authority to decide on which roles different data processing systems will take on to provide the services on which the intermediate representation was based. Further, when isolated the other portions of the distributed control plane may automatically take on new roles to continue successful operation of the system.

For example, upon (and/or preceding) isolation, data processing systems of a deployment may automatically assign management roles and initiate independent operation. During independent operation, the data processing systems may operate based on a temporary control plane that requires a higher level of agreement or consensus. The higher degree of agreement or consensus may improve the likelihood of a successful set of configurations for data processing systems being implemented albeit at potentially lower levels of performance and/or resource efficiency.

Additionally, to establish aggregate units, some data processing systems (e.g., that lack self-evaluation capabilities) may be slaved to other data processing systems (e.g., that have self-evaluation capabilities). The master data processing system may be tasked with managing one or more slave data processing system to successfully perform roles which the master data processing system has agreed to perform. The master data processing system may do so by (i) managing the configurations of the slave data processing systems, and/or (ii) managing tasks/workloads performed by the slave data processing systems to perform a role assigned to the master data processing systems.

By implementing the distributed control plane in this manner, multiple instances of deployment manager 106 may independently manage provisioning of services without needing to maintain a map (or other types of representations) of the activities of the data processing systems of any number of deployments. For example, any number of instances of deployment manager 106 may independently process service requests from clients 100 without needing to coordinate with other instances of deployment manager 106 (at least for resource management purposes). By doing so, the distributed control plane may be able to manage services for larger numbers of clients using larger numbers of data processing systems (and/or virtualized/containerized/non-physical replicas of data processing systems).

Deployment 110 may include any number of data processing systems 111 and/or other components. Deployment 110 may be implemented, for example, as a portion of data center, public or private cloud, compute edge system, and/or other type of computing environment. Deployment 110 may be geographically separated from deployment manager 106 and/or clients 100.

Generally, deployment 110 may implement a portion of the distributed control plane. The portion of the distributed control plane implemented by deployment 110 may be responsible for providing services by implementing intermediate representations provided by deployment manager 106 and/or other members of other portions of the distributed control plane. To do so, the portion of the distributed control plane implemented by deployment 110 may (i) obtain information based on the intermediate representation, (ii) identify members of deployment 110 that may take on roles based on the information, (iii) cooperatively decide which member of deployment 110 will take on each of the roles (and/or which group of members may take on roles in scenarios in which a role may require multiple data processing systems), (iv) configure the data processing systems based on the data processing systems elected to perform the roles through a subscription system, and/or (v) after configuration, initiate performance of computer implemented services.

However, when isolated from the remainder of the control plane, the portion of the distributed control plane may change its operation such that it may operate independently from the remainder of the control plane. To do so, roles defined by the intermediate representation may be implemented, and the data processing systems performing the roles may then operate the isolated deployment (e.g., through configuration of data processing systems). While operating independently, the role decisions made and implemented may be treated as temporary subject to ratification or acceptance by the rest of the control plane once communications are restored. While operating independently, the isolated portion of the control plane may typically make more conservative decisions to improve the likelihood of services being provided successfully. However, this approach may result in inefficient use of resources. Consequently, even if services are successfully provided while isolated, once reconnected to the remainder of the control plane the role assignments may be modified using a more aggressive set of decision make rules thereby improving the resource efficiency of providing services. Refer to FIGS. 2B-2F for additional details regarding deployment 110.

The intermediate representation may be implemented with, for example, a bit sequence including bits and/or bit sequences corresponding to different types of roles. The bits or bit sequences may indicate whether each of the roles are to be performed. The intermediate representation may also include bit sequences to represent (i) desired number of instances of each role, (ii) governance rules and/or procedures, and/or (iii) other types of information usable to manage deployments to provide desired services.

While performing their functionalities, any of clients 100, deployment manager 106, and deployment 110 may perform all, or a portion, of the methods illustrated in FIGS. 3A-3C.

Any of clients 100, client resources 101, deployment manager 106, and deployment 110 may be implemented using a computing device such as a host or server, a personal computer (e.g., desktops, laptops, and tablets), a “thin” client, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a Web enabled appliance, or a mobile phone (e.g., Smartphone), or any other type of data processing device or system. For additional details regarding computing devices, refer to FIG. 4 .

Communication system 105 may include one or more networks that facilitate communication between all, or a portion, of clients 100, deployment manager 106, and deployment 110. To provide its functionality, communication system 105 may be implemented with one or more wired and/or wireless networks. Any of these networks may be private, public, and/or may include the Internet. For example, clients 100 may be operably connected to one another via a local network which is operably connected to the Internet. Similarly, deployment 110 may be operably connected to one another via a second local network which is also operably connected to the Internet thereby allowing any of clients 100 and deployment 110 to communication with one another and/or other devices operably connected to the Internet. Clients 100, deployment 110, deployment manager 106, and/or communication system 105 may be adapted to perform one or more protocols for communicating via communication system 105.

While illustrated in FIG. 1 as including a limited number of specific components, a system in accordance with an embodiment may include fewer, additional, and/or different components than those illustrated therein.

As discussed above, the system of FIG. 1 may implement a control plane that manages resources of data processing systems to provide computer implemented services. FIGS. 2A-2F show data flow diagrams in accordance with an embodiment disclosed herein. The data flow diagrams may show operation of an example system over time. For example, FIGS. 2A-2F may show flows of data and processes performed that may facilitate use of functionalities provided by deployments.

Turning to FIG. 2A, a first data flow diagram in accordance with an embodiment is shown. To initiate use of a computer implemented service, client 102 may convey an intent to deployment manager 106. The intent may be conveyed by providing information indicating one or more functionalities that the user of client 102 desires to utilize. The intent may be conveyed by, for example, presentation of one or more graphical user interfaces to the user of client 102. The graphical user interfaces may indicate the functionalities that may be provided by deployment 110. The user may select the functionalities to be provided via the graphical user interfaces, thereby conveying an intent to deployment manager 106 regarding desired functionalities.

In addition to functionalities, various limits and/or other criteria for the functionalities (e.g., referred to as “service limits”) may be provided by the user. The limits may specify, for example, financial limits regarding cost for the services, the extent of the provided functionalities such as numbers of devices to which the functionalities are to be provided or rates at which the functionalities are to be provided, and/or other types of limits.

However, the information provided by client 102 may include one or more inconsistencies, or may otherwise lack certain information that may be helpful in deciding how services should be provided. For example, the information may expressly specify one intent (e.g., a desire for data storage services, through selection of data storage services from a list of services which may include other services such as rendering services) while a different intent may be inferred based on some of the selections of some of the options (e.g., selection of software for rendering via graphics processing systems which are not commonly used in conjunction with data storage services, thereby indicating a different intent for rendering services even if not explicitly specified). When a difference in explicit and inferred intent is identified, a resolution process may be performed to identify a finalized intent of client 102.

The resolution process may include obtaining information from other users of an organization (e.g., either via client 102 and/or other devices). The resolution process may include resolving a level of service to be provided with respect to one or more services. The information may be obtained by presenting, for example, questions, simulated environment, and/or constructs that convey the level of service for the services that will be provided based on the current intent conveyed by the first user. The finalized intent may then be used to obtain intermediate representation 222 via translation process 220.

In another example, when certain services are initially understood as being requested, additional information may automatically be collected. For example, if the services are storage services, information regarding an expected use of the storage services may be collected. The information may include types of other services that will be provided using the storage services. The additional information may inform which storage architecture to implement to provide the storage services, a level of scaling to implement to ensure that the storage architecture can meet the needs of storage service consumers, and/or may otherwise be used to select how the services will be provided. This additional information may be used to refine how an intermediate representation is generated and/or to finalize an understanding of an intent of a client (e.g., a mismatch between an explicit intent and how services will be used may be resolved using the information to obtain a finalized intent), discussed below in greater detail.

Implementing any of the functionalities may require, for example, configuration of one or more hardware components of a data processing system and deployment and/or configuration of one or more software components (e.g., a “software stack”) to the data processing system for the data processing system to be able to provide, at least in part, the respective functionalities. However, the functionalities may not require specific hardware components and configurations thereof, or a specific software stack. Rather, the functionalities may be considered as being provided effectively by various hardware and software stacks, so long as various performance metrics may be met.

For example, if the functionality is to store and provide stored data, various types of storage devices and software layers for managing the stored data may all be capable of meeting the functionality of storing data and providing stored data at a particular rate. Rather than attempting to rigidly define hardware and software stacks that must be implemented to meet the intent of the user (e.g., storing and reading data at predetermined rates), an intermediate representation 222 based on the intent (i.e., the finalized intent) may be obtained.

Intermediate representation 222 may be obtained via translation process 220. Translation process 220 may take the intent from the user of client 102, any additional information obtained (e.g., such as use of the services indicated by the intent of the user), and/or other types of information such as the service limits, and obtain one or more roles that, when provided, are likely to meet the intent of client 102. Intermediate representation 222 may indicate the roles that are to be implemented to meet goals of client 102.

The roles may be established via a lookup in a database or other process. For example, the database may include associations between functionalities, service limits, and roles. When a functionality (e.g., storage services used by another service) and/or service limit is identified based on a user's expressed intent, one or more roles may be identified by performing the lookup in the database. As will be discussed in greater detail below, each of the roles may be associated with performance metrics usable to identify and/or rank data processing systems (e.g., 112-113) of deployment 110 with respect to their abilities to perform the roles.

In the context of storage services, for example, the functionality may be expressed as storage services in the context of a downstream use of the storage services to provide another service. Thus, the key used in the lookup may be the combination of storage services and the user of the storage services. The data structure in which the lookup is performed may include associations between different combinations of storage services and other services with corresponding roles. The roles, when implemented, may instantiate storage architectures that are likely to be able to provide storage services that meet the needs of the other services in a computationally efficient manner (e.g., that limits overprovisioning of resources).

In addition to roles for meeting the user's expressed intent, additional roles may be added to the intermediate representation. These additional roles (e.g., also referred to as “management roles”) may be used to manage control of a deployment when the deployment is disconnected from deployment manager 106. The management roles added to intermediate representation 222 may include any number of roles. The management roles may be associated with the expressed user intent (e.g., much like the roles used to effectuate the user's intent, and identifiable through a lookup process).

Because different deployments may include different numbers and types of data processing systems, multiple sets of management roles and/or a set of scaling rules may be included in intermediate representation 222. If multiple sets of managements roles are included in intermediate representation 222, then each of the sets may be associated with criteria based on a deployment implementing the roles. The criteria may relate, for example, to the numbers and capabilities of data processing systems of the deployment. The criteria may indicate that sets of roles with larger numbers of management roles are to be implemented for deployments that include larger numbers of data processing systems and that sets of roles with smaller numbers of management roles are to be implemented for deployment that include smaller numbers of data processing systems. If scaling rules are included in intermediate representation 222, then the number of instances of each of the roles may be scaled based on the scaling rules. For example, the scaling rules may specify scaling factors that are based on the numbers and capabilities of data processing systems of a deployment that are implementing intermediate representation 222.

The scaling rules may also specify, for example, different systems of governance to be implemented by the management roles depending on the level of scaling. For example, as the level of scaling increases passed a threshold, the level of decision making authority vested in each data processing system may decrease. While below the threshold, the governance system may require unanimous consent of all data processing systems managed by a control plane for a decision by the control plane (e.g., by a leader thereof) to be implemented. In contrast, once above the threshold, the governance system may only require a majority (e.g., or a specific ratio) of the data processing systems managed by a control plane for a decision by the control plane (e.g., by a leader thereof) to be implemented.

The scaling rules and governance rules may be selected based on the levels of service to be afforded based on the finalized intent. For example, the level of service indicated by the finalized intent may be used to identify the extent of scaling to be applied and the type of governance rules to be enforced. Lower levels of service may be associated with reduced scaling (e.g., no scaling) while higher levels of service may be associated with increased scaling. Likewise, lower level of service may be associated with limited governance rules (e.g., requiring a majority for a change to be approved by a local control plane) while higher levels of services may be associated with more restrictive governance rules (e.g., requiring a unanimous vote for changes).

The scaling rules may also be based, for example, on the user of services to be provided. For example, sets of roles may be scaled differently depending on the downstream use of provided storage services.

Each of the management roles may be associated with a set of criteria through which data processing systems are selected for the roles. The criteria may include: (i) a minimum level of operable connectivity to other data processing systems, (ii) a quantity of available computing resources for implementing the management role, (iii) an assurance level regarding the likelihood of continued operation (e.g., such as a requirement for having a battery backup system and/or other power sources available in the event of a failure of a primary power source) of the data processing system, and/or (iv) other types of limiting criteria.

Once obtained, intermediate representation 222 may be provided to local control plane 114 of deployment 110. Local control plane 114 may be implemented with a service that manages configuration of data processing systems 112-113 to provide services. Local control plane 114 may be hosted by another device (not shown) and/or may be implemented using distributed services (e.g., hosted, in part, by each of the data processing systems).

Local control plane 114 may distribute role information for the roles defined by intermediate representation 222 to the data processing systems. The role information may include, for example, numbers and types of roles to be implemented by deployment 110, including management roles.

In a scenario in which deployment 110 is an edge deployment or other type of computing system remote to deployment manager 106, the data processing systems of deployment 110 may be operably connected to deployment manager 106 via channel 116. Channel 116 may only provide intermittent connectivity. The intermittent connectivity may, from time to time, cause deployment 110 to be communicatively isolated.

For example, channel 116 may be implemented, at least in part, with a wireless or wired communication system that be unable to carry communications from time to time (e.g., in a wireless system, environmental conditions such as weather systems may prevent data transmission during the weather; in a wired system, repeater time outs or other hardware failures may prevent data transmission until replaced). When isolated, the data processing systems of the deployment may automatically implement management roles to establish a temporary framework for independent operation.

Turning to FIG. 2B, a second data flow diagram in accordance with an embodiments disclosed herein is shown. With respect to FIG. 2B, consider a scenario in which deployment 110 become isolated. In response to becoming isolated, the data processing systems of deployment 110 may perform multiple role assignment processes. During the first role assignment process, management roles may be assigned. During the second role assignment process, roles for providing services may be performed.

During both role assignment processes, each of data processing systems 112-113 may evaluate their capacities for performing the roles. To do so, data processing systems 112-113 may (i) identify hardware and/or software needed to perform the roles as well as other characteristics to meet the criteria for each role (e.g., power availability, connectivity, etc.), (ii) compare their available hardware, software, and/or other characteristics (e.g., in aggregate the “evaluation metrics”) to the criteria for each role to identify their capability to perform each of the roles, (iii) rank or otherwise grade their evaluation metrics for each of the roles based on their capabilities to perform the roles, and/or (iv) provide role fit data to local control plane 114. The role fit data may indicate their self-report ability for each of the roles.

However, not all data processing systems may include the ability to self-evaluate and self-report their abilities to perform the roles. For example, data processing system 113 may not include this capability and may not provide role fit data to local control plane 114. Deployment 110 may discriminate those data processing systems capable of self-evaluating their capabilities from those that do not thereby establishing two portions of data processing systems.

Returning to the discussion of the role assignment process, during the first phase of the role assignment process, the data processing systems may broadcast or otherwise distribute their role fit data to one another so that each data processing system may have a global view, though some that lack the capability to self-evaluate may abstain from broadcasting. Any type of voting process may then be implemented based on the role fit data to elect data processing systems to each of the roles.

During the second phase of the role assignment process, the data processing systems may send their role fit data to, for example, data processing systems that have taken on management roles, and others may abstain due to lack of ability to self-evaluate their capabilities (or for other reasons). Thus, in FIG. 2B and the remainder, the membership in local control plane 114 may change over time depending on whether management roles have been established. For example, prior to implementation of management roles, all of the data processing systems that include self-evaluation capability may be members of the local control plane while after establishment of the management roles only those data processing systems performing management roles may be part of local control plane 114.

The data processing systems may rank or otherwise grade their ability for each role using the performance metrics associated with each role. The data processing systems may evaluate their performance for each of the performance metrics (e.g., through simulation, test implementation, or other processes), and compare their performance to the given performance metrics.

For example, returning to the example for data storage services, if a performance metric indicates completion of 100 storage transactions per second, a data processing system may temporarily deploy a software stack capable of performing the storage transactions and ingest a set of test storage transactions to identify a storage transactions rate per second by the data processing system. The data processing system may then compare the tested rate to the performance metric to identify whether to what extent the data processing system is able to perform the role. For example, if the storage transaction rate of the data processing system was 120 storage transactions per second, then the data processing system may report in the role fit data that the data processing system is 120% capable of performing the role (e.g., 120/100 transactions per second). While described with respect to a single software stack, the data processing system may evaluate its performance with respect to any number of software stacks and/or hardware configurations (e.g., also referred to as “tested configurations”) when evaluating its capability for performing the role. The resulting role fit data may include a report of the highest capability (for all of the tested configurations), an average capability (of the tested configurations, all of the capabilities for all of the tested configurations, limitations with respect to any of the tested configurations (e.g., whether the data processing system has sufficient free available hardware resources to support the tested configurations), and/or other information usable to appraise local control plane 114 of the capabilities of data processing systems 112-113.

While described with respect to testing for individual ability to perform roles, each of the data processing systems may also report in the role fit data their capability to perform roles in cooperation with other data processing systems. Like their individual abilities to perform roles, the distributed capability for role performance may be evaluated through cooperative testing with other data processing systems.

The resulting role fit data may indicate, for a given role, (i) a self-ranking of the ability of the data processing system to perform the role, (ii) a self-rank of the ability of a group of the data processing systems (to which the data processing system is a member) to perform the role, and/or (iii) other information reflecting the self-evaluated ability to perform a role (e.g., such as numerical quantifications with respect to different criteria for each of the roles).

Local control plane 114 may perform selection process 230 using the role fit data to obtain proposal 232. Selection process 230 may parse the role fit data to identify which of data processing systems 112-113 is best able to perform the role. Selection process 230 may include rank ordering data processing systems for the roles based on the role fit data.

The rank ordering may be based on (i) the available hardware resources of each of the data processing systems as well as other characteristics evaluated by the criteria for each of the roles, (ii) the magnitude of change to the existing hardware configurations and/or software hosted by each of the data processing systems to perform a role, (iii) the self-reported ability of each data processing system to perform the role, and/or (iv) other factors. The rank ordering may be obtained using an objective function that takes into account the above factors and outputs a numerical value. The rank ordering may be established based on the numerical values obtained from the objective function for each of the data processing systems.

For example, in the context of a management role, consider a scenario where an objective function is used that evaluates (i) a level of existing workload and (ii) a level of backup power available to a data processing system. The objective function may, for example, heavily weight the level of backup power available when compared to the weighting of the level of existing workload. Consequently, a data processing system having a large reserve of backup power may be preferentially selected over a second data processing system without battery backup even if the data processing system is already heavily loaded with existing workloads. The objective function may be used to weight and evaluate any number of criteria to obtain numerical quantifications usable to rank order data processing systems for various roles.

Proposal 232 may indicate which of data processing systems 112-113 are initially proposed (e.g., provisionally) to perform each of the roles (and/or groups of data processing systems to cooperatively perform roles, for roles that may be distributed across data processing systems). When deployment 110 is isolated, proposal 232 may be treated as a temporary proposal that may need to be subsequently ratified by other elements of the control plane once connectivity is restored.

Proposal 232 may also indicate some of data processing systems 112-113 to supplement the capabilities of other data processing systems. For example, data processing systems that lack self-evaluation capabilities may be used as a pool of data processing systems that may supplement other data processing systems having self-evaluation capability.

If a highly ranked data processing system would be selected for a role but, when compared to the performance metrics for the role is unlikely to accept the role, then one of the data processing systems in the pool (e.g., also referred to as “limited data processing system”) may be selected for supplementing the capabilities of a data processing system that has been selected for a role. For example, the delta between the capabilities of the data processing system and the evaluation metrics for the role may be used to identify a set of supplemental capabilities. A limited data processing system having at least the set of supplemental capabilities (e.g., may be a quantity of various types of computing resources, or higher level service descriptions) may be assigned to assist the data processing system to perform the role. Proposal 232 may reflect this assistance (e.g., the proposal may indicate the role for the data processing system and the assignment of the limited data processing system to assist the data processing system in performance of the role).

Turning to FIG. 2C, a third data flow diagram in accordance with an embodiment is shown. Using proposal 232, local control plane 114 may perform negotiation process 210 to ascertain which of data processing systems 112-113 will perform the roles.

Negotiation process 210 may be performed to confirm role assignments based on proposal 232. If proposal 232 is a temporary proposal, negotiation process 210 may use governance roles included in the intermediate representation. The governance rules may increase the level of agreement required for data processing systems to be assigned rules. For example, while deployment 110 is not isolated, a default set of governance rules may be used that may only require assent of a data processing system that will perform a role for the role to be assigned. However, when isolated, the governance rules may increase the level of assent required for a role to be assigned. Under strict governance rules, unanimous consent of all of the data processing systems may be required for a role to be assigned to a data processing system. Depending on the number of data processing systems, different levels of consent (e.g., ratio of assenting vs dissenting) may be required for roles to be assigned.

Each of data processing systems 112-113 that include self-evaluation capability may, upon receipt of information regarding proposal 232, evaluate and either agree or disagree with each proposed role assignment. The data processing systems may do so, for example, using information available to them that may not otherwise be available to other data processing systems.

For example, negotiation process 210 may include, for one of the roles, sending a provisional proposal to the highest rank ordered data processing systems (e.g., 112). The provisional proposal may indicate that data processing system 112 is being requested to take on the role and/or be assisted by one or more limited data processing systems in performance of the role.

The data processing system may then accept or reject the provisional proposal. To decide whether to accept or reject the proposal, the data processing system may evaluate whether it is likely to be able to successfully perform the role. The data processing system may do so by evaluating an impact on its current roles (which it is already performing) for performing the proposed role, as well as the capabilities of any limited data processing systems that will assist it.

For example, the data processing system may evaluate the computing resources necessary to perform the role based on the hardware and/or software used to estimate its capability to perform the role and the capabilities of limited data processing systems to assist in performance of the role. The computing resources may be compared the available computing resources to make the determination. If the required computing resources exceed the available computing resources (or other basis for comparison, such as simulation or temporary implementation and evaluation of performance), then the data processing system may elect to reject the role. In contrast, if the required computing resources are within the available computing resources, then the data processing system may elect to take on the role.

When evaluating the assistance that may be provided by limited data processing systems, the data processing system may take into account overhead for cooperation. Additionally, communication bandwidth, latency, and/or other factors that may impact distributed operation may be taken into account when evaluating whether to agree to a role.

For roles proposed to be assigned to other data processing systems, the data processing systems may evaluate the assignment based on their interactions with other data processing systems. For example, if a data processing system depends on functionality of another data processing system, the data processing system may evaluate whether the other data processing system is providing the functionality in accordance with criteria corresponding to the role performed by the other data processing system. If the performance of the function by the other data processing system does not meet the criteria, then the data processing system may cast a vote against the assignment.

Once the decision is made by a data processing system, a response may be provided to local control plane 114. If rejected based on the responses received from the data processing systems, then negotiation process 210 may continue and a new provisional proposal may be made to the next highest ranked data processing system.

If a data processing system agrees to the role on the basis of having assistance of a limited data processing system, then a management assignment for the limited data processing system may be made (e.g., with respect to data processing system 113, the dashed line in this example indicates that data processing system 113 will operate as a slave to data processing system 112).

In the event that no data processing system accepts the provisional proposals, then a remediation process may be performed for the role. The remediation process may include decreasing the performance metrics for the role, opening the role to distributed performance by multiple data processing system, etc. Additional provisional proposals may then be initiated until one or more data processing systems agrees to the role and/or the data processing systems vote to accept the role assignment.

Turning to FIG. 2D, a fourth data flow diagram in accordance with an embodiment is shown. When a role assignment is made, subscription information may be transmitted to the data processing system (illustrated in FIG. 2D with respect to data processing system 112, but could be any of the data processing systems) that will implement the role. The subscription information may include information regarding when and under what conditions that the data processing system is to suspend or stop performing the role, which entities for which the role is to be performed (e.g., which client devices may utilize the services provided through the role), and/or other information usable to perform the role.

For example, the subscription information may include one or more disablement actions and corresponding criteria for performing the disablement actions. The disablement actions may, in the context of storage services, include, for example, (i) reconfiguring storage controllers or storage managers, (ii) disabling or reassigning storage controllers or storage managers, (iii) removing certain functionality with respect to volumes of data in which data from storage services is stored, (iv) reconfiguring connectivity and/or operation of operable connections between data processing systems and independent storage devices (e.g., network storages), and/or (v) other types of actions to limit the utility of storage services without entirely preventing access to data stored as part of previously subscribed to storage services. One or more disablement actions may be automatically performed when criteria associated with the disablement actions is met. The criteria may specify, for example, limits on use of services such as time limits, use limits (e.g., number of transactions, quantity of stored data, etc.), etc.

In the context of a management role, the subscription information may include performance limits that, if not met, indicate that the data processing system is to relinquish the role (e.g., which may trigger a new negotiation process). The performance limits may include criteria like any of that discussed with respect to assignment of management roles.

Once the subscription information is received, the data processing may take action to perform the role. The actions may include, for example, any of (i) reconfiguring hardware components, (ii) deploying new software components, (iii) reconfiguring existing software components, (vi) performing verification actions, and/or (v) providing a verification to local control plane 114. The verification may indicate that the role is not yet being performed, and also include information usable to ascertain whether the role is being performed within the performance metrics for the role. For example, the verification actions may include performing testing to ascertain the data processing system's performance levels with respect to the performance metrics for the role.

Similarly, any master data processing system may perform or manage performance of similar actions by slave data processing systems. For example, a master data processing system may provide instructions to the slave data processing system thereby initiating performance of any of the actions.

Turning to FIG. 2E, a fifth data flow diagram in accordance with an embodiment is shown. Once communication with other portions of the control plane are restored, the temporary proposal and implementation may be validated, verified, and/or modified (if validation fails or efficiency gains may be obtained through role reassignment).

Based on a verification from a data processing system, negotiation process 210 may provide a confirmation regarding the role as well as any limitations for the role to deployment manager 106. For example, deployment manager 106 may perform management process 240 that manages the functionalities requested by users of the clients. Management process 240 may process the confirmation and limitations to quantify whether a functionality is being provided in a manner consistent with a requestor of the functionality.

For example, management process 240 may maintain subscription repository 242. Subscription repository 242 may include information regarding the functionalities requested (e.g., subscribed to) by users of the clients. For a given functionality, management process 240 may track the confirmations and limitations from deployment 110. Management process 240 may compare, based on the confirmations and limitations, the extent to which a particular functionality is being provided to a user. Once the functionality meets metrics (e.g., when all of the roles of an intermediate representation corresponding to the function) for the functionality, then subscription repository 242 may be updated to reflect that a subscription for the functionality is now being satisfied.

Similarly, the roles assigned while deployment 110 is isolated may be re-evaluated to ascertain whether some degree of efficiency may be obtained through role reassignment. An intermediate representation may include different sets of roles to be implemented under different operating conditions. For example, while isolated one set of roles may be implemented. These roles may generally include evaluation criteria that is more conservative thereby improving the likelihood of a data processing system that meets the criteria also successfully performing the role. In contrast, while not isolated another set of roles may be implemented. The roles from the other set may generally include evaluation criteria that is more aggressive thereby potentially increasing computing resource use efficiency while incurrent more risk with respect the to-be-provided services. However, because the full control plane may have a view into the operation of deployment 110, the increased level of risk may be acceptable (e.g., the full control plane may be able to take additional remedial action that deployment 110 may not be able to take to address any shortcomings in the provided services).

Once a subscription is satisfied, then the use and performance of the functionality may be tracked to (i) confirm that the subscription for the functionality continues to be satisfied and (ii) identify whether any limits on the subscription (e.g., number of concurrent users, number of uses, duration of subscription, etc.) are exceeded. If any of the limits are exceeded, then management process 240 may confirm whether the data processing systems performing the roles for the subscription for the functionality have discontinued performing or otherwise modified their performance to limit the use of the subscription to be within the subscription limitations. As discussed above, disablement actions may automatically be performed by the data processing systems. Management process 240 may take action to modify the operation of the data processing systems if the data processing systems are exceeding the subscribed to level of the functionalities.

Turning to FIG. 2F, a sixth data flow diagram in accordance with an embodiment is shown. To identify whether any subscription limits have been exceeded, local control plane 114 may implement validation process 260. Validation process 260 may assign data collection tasks to data processing systems 112-113 that are performing a role. The tasks may include monitoring performance of the roles assigned to data processing systems 112-113 to ascertain whether any of the subscription limitations have been exceeded. For example, the tasks may include monitoring of the computing resources consumed for performing the roles, the number of clients serviced by the roles, and/or other data collection processes to obtain metrics usable to ascertain whether subscription limitations have been exceeded.

The metrics may be collected by local control plane 114, aggregated, and provided to deployment manager 106 as metric bundle 262. Management process 240 may use metric bundle 262 to establish performance history 250. Performance history 250 may quantify the extent of use of the data processing systems for providing a functionality, the extent of use of the functionality by other devices, and/or otherwise establish a basis for ascertaining whether subscription limits have been exceeded and performance goals for a functionality are met.

In a scenario in which a master data processing system is performing a role, the master data processing system (e.g., 112) may assign tasks to a slave data processing system (e.g., 113) and monitor the performance. The master data processing system may provide metrics that reflect the individual and/or aggregate data processing systems that are contributing to performance of the role.

Likewise, during performance of services, the master data processing system may assign tasks, workloads, and/or otherwise be tasked with managing slave data processing systems. The master data processing system may do so in accordance with any management model.

Any of the processes described with respect to FIGS. 2A-2F may be implemented using any combination of software components (e.g., processes executing using computer processors) and/or non-programmable hardware components that include circuitry adapted to provide all, or a portion, of the functionality of the processes.

As discussed above, the components of FIG. 1 may perform various methods to manage a deployment. FIGS. 3A-3E illustrate examples of methods that may be performed by the components of FIG. 1 . In the diagrams discussed below and shown in FIGS. 3A-3E, any of the operations may be repeated, performed in different orders, and/or performed in parallel with or a partially overlapping in time manner with other operations.

Turning to FIG. 3A, a flow diagram illustrating a method of providing computer implemented service in accordance with an embodiment is shown. The method may be performed by a data processing system, a deployment manager, a client, and/or another component (e.g., not shown in FIG. 1 ).

At operation 300, intent data from a client that indicates a desired use is obtained. The desired use may be to receive a functionality of a deployment. The functionality may be provided through computer implemented services used by the client and provided by the deployment.

The intent data may be obtained from the client by (i) displaying a graphical user interface to the client that shows the available functionalities of the deployment, and (ii) receiving, via the graphical user interface, one or more user inputs indicating the intent from the client. The user inputs may be obtained, for example, by the user clicking on active elements (e.g., widgets, input boxes, etc.) of the graphical user interface. The input may indicate the functionalities to be provided, capacities and/or other characterizations regarding an extent of desired use of the functionalities, duration based and/or other types of limitations regarding the desired use, and/or other information indicating an intent of a user of the client. While described with respect to a graphical user interface, the intent of the client may be obtained via other methods without departing from embodiments disclosed herein.

The information obtained via the graphical user interface may also indicate a level of performance for the services. For example, the information may indicate (i) computing resources to be made available to data processing systems providing the services, (ii) expected levels of performance of the services, (iii) minimum uptime for the services, (iv) available capacity (e.g., number of users, throughput rates, etc.) for use of the services, (v) capabilities of the services (e.g., in the context of data storage, the capabilities may include availability of deduplication, redundant storage, archiving, etc.), and/or (vi) other information that may be used to identify how services are to be provided in a manner that is likely to meet expectations of the user. The user may provide user input via the graphical user interface indicating the level of performance for the services. If obtained via graphical user interface, the graphical user interface may include input fields such as sliders, widgets, and/or other active elements that may allow the user to input information reflecting selections of any of the above type of information.

In the event that the user input indicates that the intent is with respect to certain types of services likely to be used by other services, then additional prompts may be presented to the user. These prompts may be used to obtain additional user input to clarify how the service will likely be used. The additional user input may be used, to obtain a finalized intent for the user.

The intent may be obtained via the method illustrated in FIG. 3D. The intent may be obtained via other methods.

At operation 302, a deployment plan to facilitate the desired use is obtained using the intent. The deployment plan may be obtained by (i) obtaining an intermediate representation based on the intent data, (ii) obtaining self-evaluated abilities to perform roles specified by the intermediate representation from data processing systems of the deployment, (iii) identifying limited data processing systems of the deployment, and (iv) establishing the deployment plan based on the self-evaluated abilities and the limited data processing systems. The resulting deployment plan may specify proposals for any number of data processing systems of the deployment. Each of the proposals may indicates roles to be performed by recipients of the proposals.

The deployment plan may be obtained using the method illustrated in FIG. 3B. The deployment plan may be obtained via other methods without departing from embodiments disclosed herein.

At operation 304, use of data processing systems is provided to a client using the deployment plan. The use may be provided by deploying roles using the deployment plan to the data processing systems. Once deployed, the data processing systems may provide one or more services consistent with the desired use specified by the client.

The use of the data processing systems may be provided via the method illustrated in FIG. 3C. The user of the data processing systems may be provided via other methods without departing from embodiments disclosed herein.

The method may end following operation 304.

Using the method illustrated in FIG. 3A, intent from a client may be used to obtain a deployment plan to provide a desired use of data processing systems. The deployment plan may be based on an intermediate representation to provide flexibility in implementation and control thereby improving the likelihood of the desired use being provided successfully, even under challenging conditions.

Turning to FIG. 3B, a flow diagram illustrating a method of providing computer implemented service in accordance with an embodiment is shown. The method may be performed by a data processing system, a deployment manager, a client, and/or another component (e.g., not shown in FIG. 1 ). The flow diagram shown in FIG. 3B may be an expansion of operation 302 shown in FIG. 3A.

At operation 306, an intermediate representation is populated with roles based on the intent data (e.g., obtained via the method shown in FIG. 3D). The intermediate representation to facilitate the desired use may be populated using the intent data (e.g., one or more user input and/or information derived from the user input). The intermediate representation may be obtained by (i) translating the intent data into roles for the intermediate representation, (ii) establishing one or more management roles for the intermediate representation, and/or (iii) adding information regarding governance rules to the intermediate representation.

For example, to establish roles based on the intent data, the intent data may serve as one or more keys usable to perform a lookup in a data structure that associates the keys with roles and/or role identifiers. The intermediate representation may be obtained using the roles and/or role identifiers. For example, information regarding the roles and/or the role identifiers may be aggregated into a data structure (e.g., the intermediate representation) as the intermediate representation. The lookup may return different sets of roles which may be added to the intermediate representation which may be implemented by a deployment thereby causing the services to be provided.

Similarly, the roles may serve as one or more keys usable to perform a lookup in a data structure that associates the roles with one or more management roles and/or management identifiers. The intermediate representation may be obtained using the management roles and/or management role identifiers. For example, information regarding the management roles and/or the management role identifiers may be aggregated into the data structure (e.g., the intermediate representation).

The governance rules may, like the management roles, may be identified by performing a lookup in a data structure that associates the management roles with various sets of governance rules to be used under different operating conditions (e.g., based on the numbers and capabilities of data processing systems). Information regarding the governance rules identified via the lookup may be aggregated into a data structure (e.g., the intermediate representation).

While described with a respect to a lookup, the process for identifying the roles, management roles, and governance rules may be implemented using other types of identification procedures (e.g., other than lookups) without departing from embodiments disclosed herein.

At operation 308, self-reported role fit data is obtained from data processing systems for each of the roles. The self-reported role fit data may (i) indicate estimates of the ability of each data processing system to fulfill each of the roles and/or (ii) include other information reflecting how adoption of the role may be implemented by a data processing system. The self-reported role fit data may be obtained by receiving it or otherwise obtaining it from the data processing systems (e.g., responsive to information regarding the roles being provided to the data processing systems). The local control plane (e.g., a leader) may aggregate the information.

For example, information regarding the roles may be provided to the data processing systems (e.g., such as a listing of the roles), the data processing systems may self-evaluate their abilities to perform the roles to the leader and/or other members of the local control plane, and the data processing systems may self-report their role fit data based on their self-evaluation of the abilities to perform the roles.

The self-reported role fit data may only include information for a subset of the roles indicated by the intermediate representation. For example, while isolated the data processing systems of the deployment may only report role-fit data for roles to be implemented while the deployment is isolated.

As noted with respect to FIGS. 2A-2F, only some data processing systems may include self-evaluation and self-reporting capability. Consequently, only a portion of the data processing systems may self-report their role fit data. The other data processing systems that do not self-report their role fit data may be identified as limited data processing systems.

At operation 310, data processing systems of a second portion of the data processing systems for which self-reported role fit data is not obtained is identified. The identifications may be made by (i) monitoring the self-reported role fit data and (ii) identifying data processing systems that fail to provide the self-reported role fit data within certain criteria (e.g., such as a time threshold).

At operation 312, a deployment plan for services to be provided by the data processing systems is generated using the self-reported role fit data and capabilities of the second portion of the data processing systems. The deployment plan may be obtained by rank-ordering the data processing systems based on their self-reported role fit data for each role. The rank ordering may be obtained by (i) rank ordering based on the estimated abilities to perform each of the roles to obtain an initial rank ordering and (ii) selecting of data processing systems for the roles based on the rank ordering. For example, the highest ranked data processing system for each role may be selected to provide the services associated with each of the roles.

In the event that a data processing system that is selected for a role is unlikely to accept the role, then a limited data processing system may be selected for supplementing the capabilities of the data processing system. The limited data processing system may be selected based on a delta between the capabilities of the data processing system (e.g., such as available computing resources) and criteria used to judge whether data processing systems are capable of performing the roles (e.g., such as a quantity of computing resources). For example, the delta may be compared to the capabilities of the limited data processing systems to identify one that will overcome come the delta if added to that of the data processing system selected to perform the role. The aggregation of the capabilities of the data processing system and the selected limited data processing system may exceed or otherwise meet the criteria.

The method may end following operation 312.

Turning to FIG. 3C, a flow diagram illustrating a method of providing desired services in accordance with an embodiment is shown. The method may be performed by a data processing system, a deployment manager, a client, and/or another component (e.g., not shown in FIG. 1 ). The flow diagram shown in FIG. 3C may be an expansion of operation 304 shown in FIG. 3A.

At operation 314, agreements with the portion of the data processing systems to implement at least one of the roles of the intermediate representation is negotiated using the deployment plan. The agreements may be negotiated by, for a role, generating and sending a proposal to the best ranked data processing system, and receiving a response based on the proposal. Depending on the governance rules in place (which may depend on the connectivity of the deployment), the proposal may also be sent out to other data processing systems which may similarly respond regarding assignment of the role to the data processing system.

If the response is affirmative to a degree required by the governance rules, then an agreement may be reached and the data processing system may be selected for the role. If the response is negative, then a similar process may be performed with respect to the next highest ranked data processing system. This process may continue until a data processing system respond is selected for the role, or no data processing system is selected.

If no data processing system is selected, then the quality metrics for the role may be adjusted (e.g., by reducing them), and/or the process may be repeated with the adjusted metrics. The quality metrics may be lowered via the adjustment thereby allowing a data processing system that does not meet the quality metrics to agree to take on the role and a level of agreement of the other data processing system obtained that meets the standards set forth in the governance rules.

If no data processing system is selected, then the aforementioned process may be repeated, but for distributed implementations of the role where multiple data processing systems may provide the role.

At operation 316, subscriptions for the portion of the data processing systems based on the negotiated agreements are instantiated to facilitate the desired use (thereby obtaining subscribed data processing system). The subscriptions may be instantiated by, for example, (i) verifying that the data processing systems that have agreed to the roles have implemented any software and/or hardware changes to take on the role (e.g., using the software and/or hardware configurations through which the self-evaluations with respect to the ability each of each data processing system to perform the roles), (ii) validating the extent to which the data processing systems actually perform the services associated with each of the roles, (iii) when satisfactorily evaluated, deploying subscription information to the data processing systems, the subscription information may provide criteria through which the data processing systems evaluate whether subscription limitations have been exceeded, (iv) putting in place one or more disablement actions and corresponding criteria with the data processing systems to limit use of the services to that agreed up by clients, and/or (iv) recording the subscriptions as being serviced in management systems.

For example, when recording the subscriptions, information regarding the data processing systems that will perform the roles and limited data processing systems that assist in performance of the roles may be recorded. Doing so may prevent limited data processing systems from being used for other purposes (e.g., supporting other roles).

At operation 318, the desired use of the data processing systems is provided to the client using the subscribed data processing systems. The desired use may be provided through the operation of the subscribed data processing systems.

While providing the desired use, subscription limits may be reached or subscription changes may be obtained (e.g., by a user requesting a change to a subscription via a graphical user interface). Refer to FIG. 3E for additional details regarding responding to subscription changes.

The method may end following operation 316.

Following operation 316, depending on whether connectivity was in placing during or restored after making the subscriptions, the subscriptions may be subjected to validation. For example, if restored, the local control plane of the deployment may provide information regarding the subscriptions and role assignments to the other portions of the control plane. The other portions of the control plane may then ratify the subscriptions and role assignments, or initiate a reassignment and resubscription process.

Turning to FIG. 3D, a flow diagram illustrating a method of identifying an intent in accordance with an embodiment is shown. The method may be performed by a data processing system, a deployment manager, a client, and/or another component (e.g., not shown in FIG. 1 ).

At operation 320, a first user input indicating that storage services are to be provided is obtained. The first user input may be obtained via a graphical user interface. The graphical user interface may include information reflecting different types of services that may be provided. For example, a list of different services, products, and/or other indicators may be presented. A user may provide the first user input based on the provided information. The first user input may indicate that data storage services are to be provided.

Other user input may also be obtained. For example, the other user input may indicate levels of performance for the storage services, limits on the storage services, etc.

At operation 322, using the graphical user interface, second user input indicating a type of service to be provided using the storage services is obtained. The graphical user interface, during operation 322, may be modified from that of operation 320 and may include information reflecting different types of services that may utilize the storage services. For example, a list of different types of services, products, and/or other indicators may be presented. A user may provide the second user input based on the provided information.

The type of service that will be provided using the storage services may be provided using resources of a client, such as client resources 101. Client resources 101 may include various hardware components and software components that may provide the services using the storage services. The type of service that will be provided using the storage services may be provided using other systems without departing from embodiments disclosed herein.

Other user input may also be obtained. For example, the other user input may indicate levels of performance for the services, limits on the services, etc.

At operation 324, using the graphical user interface, third user input indicating a topology of a system through which the type of the service will be provided is obtained. The graphical user interface, during operation 324, may be modified from that of operation 322 and may include information reflecting how the system may be configured (the system may not be known to a deployment manager) and/or operably connected. For example, a network topology, computing device architecture, and/or other characteristics of systems may be presented. The user may indicate, via the third user input, whether any of the characteristics accurately reflect the system that will provide the services.

During operations 320-324, the user input may be obtained, for example, by a user using a human interface device (e.g., mouse, keyboard, voice control, etc.) to input information reflecting, for example, selections correlated with different portions of the graphical user interface. The selections may be interpreted, for example, as the user indicating agreement with information included in the selected portions of the graphical user interface. The user input may be obtained differently without departing from embodiments disclosed herein.

At operation 326, an intent based on the first user input, the second user input, and the third user input is obtained. The intent may be identified by (i) treating the first user input as indicating that storage services are to be provided, (ii) using the second input to ascertain a level of performance for the storage services, and (iii) using the third user input to identify one or more performance impediments that will be presented to the storage services.

To ascertain the level of performance, the type of services indicated by the second user input may be used as a key to perform a lookup. The lookup may return the level of performance. The lookup may be performed using a data structure that associates different types of services with levels of performance of the storage services. The data structure may be populated, for example, by a subject matter expert, by historic analysis of different types of services to identify levels of consumption of data storage services (which may be treated as the levels of performance which need to be provided), and/or via other methods.

To identify the one or more performance impediments, information regarding the topology of the system may be used as keys to perform one or more lookups. The lookups may return the performance impediments. The lookup may be performed using a data structure that associates different characteristics of system topologies with different impediments to performance. The data structure may be populated, for example, by a subject matter expert, by historic analysis of different types of services provided using different system topologies to identify levels of inefficiencies for services provided to such system (which may be treated as the performance impediments), and/or via other methods.

To identify the intent, the level of performance may be modified based on the performance impediments. For example, the level of performance may be scaled or increased based on the performance impediments.

For example, consider a scenario where a system that will provide a service includes an outdated network topology interconnecting data processing systems of the system. The outdated network topology may limit flow of data between the data processing systems of the system and a deployment. To ensure that the level of performance indicated by the second user input is provided, the level of service may be scaled up to compensate for the impediment of the outdated network topology. A scaling system may be used that may including different levels of scaling for the level of performance based on the number and type of impediments present in the system that will provide the type of the service for a client.

The resulting intent may indicate a type of service to be provided and levels of performance for that service (which may take into account impediments to the service presented by other systems).

The method may end following operation 326.

While not shown, during the method of FIG. 3D, fourth user input may also be obtained via the graphical user interface. The fourth user input may be used to clarify the level of performance. The fourth user input may be obtained by presenting prompts regarding use case scenarios for the type of the service. The use case may indicate, for example, a scenario regarding a number of uses or use rate of the storage services (e.g., such as a quantity of data to be stored per unit time), impacts of latency of the storage services on the services, and/or other scenarios that may impact the services depending on the level of performance for the data storage services. The user input may indicate whether the user believes that the impact on the services is acceptable or unacceptable. If acceptable, then no changes to the level of performance may be made.

However, if unacceptable, then further prompts and user input may be used to ascertain a true level of performance for the storage services necessary to meet the needs of an instance of the type of the services. The true level of performance may then be used, along with the impediments identified in operation 324, to obtain the intent in operation 326.

The method may end following operation 326.

Using the method illustrated in FIG. 3D, an intent of a use with respect to storage service may be identified. Because storage architectures may be challenging to interpret with respect to other services, a user may not accurately identify and indicate the level of performance for the service. Through the process illustrated in FIG. 3D, other factors that may influence the level of performance for the service necessary to meet consumers of storage services may be taken into account when identifying the intent for the user of the storage service.

Turning to FIG. 3E, a flow diagram illustrating a method of managing services provided using data processing systems in accordance with an embodiment is shown. The method may be performed by a data processing system, a deployment manager, a client, and/or another component (e.g., not shown in FIG. 1 ). The flow diagram shown in FIG. 3D may be an expansion of operation 300 shown in FIG. 3A.

At operation 330, a change in a subscription for a service provided using data processing systems is identified. The change may be identified by monitoring a criteria for the subscription (e.g., an expiration criteria) and/or obtaining user input indicating the change in the subscription. The criteria may be, for example, a duration of time, a quantity of user, and/or other types of criteria.

At operation 332, a determination is made regarding whether the subscription is for storage services. The determination may be made by reading information from a repository or other location regarding the subscription. The information may indicate whether the subscription is for storage services.

If the subscription is for storage services, the method may proceed to operation 334. Otherwise, the method may end following operation 332.

At operation 334, a determination is made regarding whether the change is an enhancement of the subscription. The determination may be made based on the user input indicating the change (e.g., which may indicate whether a broadening of the subscription is intended) or the criteria (e.g., a subscription limit).

If the change is an enhancement of the subscription, then the method may proceed to operation 336. Otherwise, the method may proceed to operation 338.

In operation 336, intent data may be modified based on the enhancement. For example, the change in the subscription may be treated as a change in the intent (e.g., such as a change to a level of performance for the intent) which lead to the subscription being created.

The method may proceed to operation 302 in FIG. 3A following operation 336. Proceeding to operation 302 may cause a deployment to be modified in accordance with the enhanced subscription. For example, roles may be added or modified, subscription durations may be extended, etc.

Returning to operation 334, the method may proceed to operation 338 following operation 334 if the change is not an enhancement of the subscription. Proceed to operation 338 may indicate that a subscription limit for the subscription has been reached.

At operation 338, an action set is performed to limit use of the services based on the change to the subscription. For example, operation of the data processing systems that provide storage services may be modified to limit the user of the storage services. The action set may be automatically performed through performance of one or more disablement actions when corresponding criteria are met.

The action set may include one or more of the following actions: (i) reconfiguring a storage controller hosted by a data processing system of the data processing systems to obtain a reconfigured storage controller, the reconfigured storage controller having asymmetric read performance and write performance to limit access to the data, (ii) reassigning a storage controller hosted by a data processing system of the data processing systems to process data access requests from other clients to obtain a reconfigured storage controller, the reconfigured storage controller limiting access to the data, (iii) reconfiguring a network that connects a data processing system of the data processing systems to a storage device to reduce allocated bandwidth for traffic between the data processing system and the storage device, the reduced allocation of the bandwidth limiting access to the data, (iv) reconfiguring a storage manager of a data processing system of the data processing systems to reduce a number of access options for the data, and (v) converting a redundant array of disks implementation to a high reliability, low accessibility implementation, the redundant array of disks implementation providing redundancy for data stored as part of the storage services.

A data processing system may include storage devices (e.g., hard disk drives, solid state drives, etc.), storage controller, storage managers, remote storage devices (e.g., network storage), and/or other entities.

The storage controllers may manage the storage devices. For example, the storage controllers may utilize the storage space of the storage devices to present an aggregate storage resource, may cache data until able to be stored by the storage device, may manage the cache data to accelerate reads, etc.

The storage manager may implement various features such as deduplication, redundant array of disk (RAID) functionality, parity data creation, and/or other features. To do so, the storage manager, storage controllers, and storage device may implement a data storage pipeline through which data may be stored and accessed by the host data processing system.

Any of these components may be operably connected by one or more configurable operable connections (e.g., supported by a network). Thus, modifying the operation of the operable connections may limit transmission of data to storage devices from a host data processing system if the target storage device is remote.

When subscriptions are instantiated, one or more disablement actions may be cached or stored with these entities, and/or in other locations. These entities and/or other entities (e.g., such as agents of deployment manager 106) may automatically perform the disablement actions when corresponding criteria are met. The change in subscription identified in operation 330 may be one of these criteria being met (e.g., a subscription limit being met, thereby causing the client to no longer be subscribed to storage services, for example).

The storage controller may be reconfigured to have asymmetric read performance and write performance by modifying firmware and/or configurations of the storage controller. For example, the storage controller may be reconfigured to limit write performance to only those writes necessary for maintenance of stored data (e.g., thereby preventing storage of additional data) and to limit read performance to a limited level (e.g., 10% of nominal) such that some data may be read but not at desirable speeds. The read and write performance may continue to be reduced in accordance with a schedule over time following the change in the subscription.

The storage controller may be reassigned to process data access requests from other clients by modifying the firmware and/or configurations of the storage controller. For example, the storage controller may be reconfigured such that it does not manage the storage volumes in which data for a client is stored. In this manner, the total number of storage controllers that contribute to the aggregate read/write rate for the data of the client may be automatically reduced.

The network that connects a data processing system to a storage device may be reconfigured to reduce allocated bandwidth for traffic between the data processing system and the storage device by sending one or more instructions to a network interface controller (or other networking device such as a router, switch, etc.) to change traffic prioritization. For example, traffic on a link between the data processing system and the storage device (e.g., a network storage) may be subjected to a reduced service level that may limit the bandwidth and/or latency thereby reducing read and/or write rates with respect to the storage device. The instructions may reflect the disablement actions and may be automatically implemented by the network interface controller.

The storage manager may be reconfigured to reduce a number of access options for the data by eliminating parallel write, parallel read, access to metadata on or for a volume, and/or other functionality provided by the storage manager. The storage manager may be reconfigured by modifying firmware and/or configurations of the storage manager. For example, the disablement actions may automatically make these changes when the criteria for the disablement actions is met.

The redundant array of disks implementation may be converted to a high reliability, low accessibility implementation by changing the RAID implementation (e.g., from a striped to a mirrored/parity based configuration such as RAID 2 or 5). A storage manager implementing the RAID array may include functionality to convert between different RAID configurations.

The method may end following operation 338.

Using the methods illustrated in FIGS. 3A-3E, embodiments disclosed herein may provide a distributed system that is better able to provide desired services at a lower computational overhead when compared to systems that use rigid central management modalities and/or fixed configurations for systems to provide services. Additionally, to improve the efficiency of use of data processing systems, intents of user of services may automatically be verified when the services are likely to be relied upon by other services.

Any of the components illustrated in FIGS. 1-2F may be implemented with one or more computing devices. Turning to FIG. 4 , a block diagram illustrating an example of a data processing system (e.g., a computing device) in accordance with an embodiment is shown. For example, system 400 may represent any of data processing systems described above performing any of the processes or methods described above. System 400 can include many different components. These components can be implemented as integrated circuits (ICs), portions thereof, discrete electronic devices, or other modules adapted to a circuit board such as a motherboard or add-in card of the computer system, or as components otherwise incorporated within a chassis of the computer system. Note also that system 400 is intended to show a high level view of many components of the computer system. However, it is to be understood that additional components may be present in certain implementations and furthermore, different arrangement of the components shown may occur in other implementations. System 400 may represent a desktop, a laptop, a tablet, a server, a mobile phone, a media player, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a personal communicator, a gaming device, a network router or hub, a wireless access point (AP) or repeater, a set-top box, or a combination thereof. Further, while only a single machine or system is illustrated, the term “machine” or “system” shall also be taken to include any collection of machines or systems that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

In one embodiment, system 400 includes processor 401, memory 403, and devices 405-408 via a bus or an interconnect 410. Processor 401 may represent a single processor or multiple processors with a single processor core or multiple processor cores included therein. Processor 401 may represent one or more general-purpose processors such as a microprocessor, a central processing unit (CPU), or the like. More particularly, processor 401 may be a complex instruction set computing (CISC) microprocessor, reduced instruction set computing (RISC) microprocessor, very long instruction word (VLIW) microprocessor, or processor implementing other instruction sets, or processors implementing a combination of instruction sets. Processor 401 may also be one or more special-purpose processors such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a cellular or baseband processor, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP), a network processor, a graphics processor, a network processor, a communications processor, a cryptographic processor, a co-processor, an embedded processor, or any other type of logic capable of processing instructions.

Processor 401, which may be a low power multi-core processor socket such as an ultra-low voltage processor, may act as a main processing unit and central hub for communication with the various components of the system. Such processor can be implemented as a system on chip (SoC). Processor 401 is configured to execute instructions for performing the operations discussed herein. System 400 may further include a graphics interface that communicates with optional graphics subsystem 404, which may include a display controller, a graphics processor, and/or a display device.

Processor 401 may communicate with memory 403, which in one embodiment can be implemented via multiple memory devices to provide for a given amount of system memory. Memory 403 may include one or more volatile storage (or memory) devices such as random access memory (RAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), static RAM (SRAM), or other types of storage devices. Memory 403 may store information including sequences of instructions that are executed by processor 401, or any other device. For example, executable code and/or data of a variety of operating systems, device drivers, firmware (e.g., input output basic system or BIOS), and/or applications can be loaded in memory 403 and executed by processor 401. An operating system can be any kind of operating systems, such as, for example, Windows® operating system from Microsoft®, Mac OS®/iOS® from Apple, Android® from Google®, Linux®, Unix®, or other real-time or embedded operating systems such as VxWorks.

System 400 may further include IO devices such as devices (e.g., 405, 406, 407, 408) including network interface device(s) 405, optional input device(s) 406, and other optional IO device(s) 407. Network interface device(s) 405 may include a wireless transceiver and/or a network interface card (NIC). The wireless transceiver may be a WiFi transceiver, an infrared transceiver, a Bluetooth transceiver, a WiMax transceiver, a wireless cellular telephony transceiver, a satellite transceiver (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS) transceiver), or other radio frequency (RF) transceivers, or a combination thereof. The NIC may be an Ethernet card.

Input device(s) 406 may include a mouse, a touch pad, a touch sensitive screen (which may be integrated with a display device of optional graphics subsystem 404), a pointer device such as a stylus, and/or a keyboard (e.g., physical keyboard or a virtual keyboard displayed as part of a touch sensitive screen). For example, input device(s) 406 may include a touch screen controller coupled to a touch screen. The touch screen and touch screen controller can, for example, detect contact and movement or break thereof using any of a plurality of touch sensitivity technologies, including but not limited to capacitive, resistive, infrared, and surface acoustic wave technologies, as well as other proximity sensor arrays or other elements for determining one or more points of contact with the touch screen.

IO devices 407 may include an audio device. An audio device may include a speaker and/or a microphone to facilitate voice-enabled functions, such as voice recognition, voice replication, digital recording, and/or telephony functions. Other IO devices 407 may further include universal serial bus (USB) port(s), parallel port(s), serial port(s), a printer, a network interface, a bus bridge (e.g., a PCI-PCI bridge), sensor(s) (e.g., a motion sensor such as an accelerometer, gyroscope, a magnetometer, a light sensor, compass, a proximity sensor, etc.), or a combination thereof. IO device(s) 407 may further include an imaging processing subsystem (e.g., a camera), which may include an optical sensor, such as a charged coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) optical sensor, utilized to facilitate camera functions, such as recording photographs and video clips. Certain sensors may be coupled to interconnect 410 via a sensor hub (not shown), while other devices such as a keyboard or thermal sensor may be controlled by an embedded controller (not shown), dependent upon the specific configuration or design of system 400.

To provide for persistent storage of information such as data, applications, one or more operating systems and so forth, a mass storage (not shown) may also couple to processor 401. In various embodiments, to enable a thinner and lighter system design as well as to improve system responsiveness, this mass storage may be implemented via a solid state device (SSD). However, in other embodiments, the mass storage may primarily be implemented using a hard disk drive (HDD) with a smaller amount of SSD storage to act as a SSD cache to enable non-volatile storage of context state and other such information during power down events so that a fast power up can occur on re-initiation of system activities. Also a flash device may be coupled to processor 401, e.g., via a serial peripheral interface (SPI). This flash device may provide for non-volatile storage of system software, including a basic input/output software (BIOS) as well as other firmware of the system.

Storage device 408 may include computer-readable storage medium 409 (also known as a machine-readable storage medium or a computer-readable medium) on which is stored one or more sets of instructions or software (e.g., processing module, unit, and/or processing module/unit/logic 428) embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions described herein. Processing module/unit/logic 428 may represent any of the components described above. Processing module/unit/logic 428 may also reside, completely or at least partially, within memory 403 and/or within processor 401 during execution thereof by system 400, memory 403 and processor 401 also constituting machine-accessible storage media. Processing module/unit/logic 428 may further be transmitted or received over a network via network interface device(s) 405.

Computer-readable storage medium 409 may also be used to store some software functionalities described above persistently. While computer-readable storage medium 409 is shown in an exemplary embodiment to be a single medium, the term “computer-readable storage medium” should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more sets of instructions. The terms “computer-readable storage medium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable of storing or encoding a set of instructions for execution by the machine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies disclosed herein. The term “computer-readable storage medium” shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to, solid-state memories, and optical and magnetic media, or any other non-transitory machine-readable medium.

Processing module/unit/logic 428, components and other features described herein can be implemented as discrete hardware components or integrated in the functionality of hardware components such as ASICS, FPGAs, DSPs or similar devices. In addition, processing module/unit/logic 428 can be implemented as firmware or functional circuitry within hardware devices. Further, processing module/unit/logic 428 can be implemented in any combination hardware devices and software components.

Note that while system 400 is illustrated with various components of a data processing system, it is not intended to represent any particular architecture or manner of interconnecting the components; as such details are not germane to embodiments disclosed herein. It will also be appreciated that network computers, handheld computers, mobile phones, servers, and/or other data processing systems which have fewer components or perhaps more components may also be used with embodiments disclosed herein.

Some portions of the preceding detailed descriptions have been presented in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are the ways used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of operations leading to a desired result. The operations are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities.

It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the above discussion, it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizing terms such as those set forth in the claims below, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices.

Embodiments disclosed herein also relate to an apparatus for performing the operations herein. Such a computer program is stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium. A non-transitory machine-readable medium includes any mechanism for storing information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, a machine-readable (e.g., computer-readable) medium includes a machine (e.g., a computer) readable storage medium (e.g., read only memory (“ROM”), random access memory (“RAM”), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices).

The processes or methods depicted in the preceding figures may be performed by processing logic that comprises hardware (e.g. circuitry, dedicated logic, etc.), software (e.g., embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium), or a combination of both. Although the processes or methods are described above in terms of some sequential operations, it should be appreciated that some of the operations described may be performed in a different order. Moreover, some operations may be performed in parallel rather than sequentially.

Embodiments disclosed herein are not described with reference to any particular programming language. It will be appreciated that a variety of programming languages may be used to implement the teachings of embodiments as described herein.

In the foregoing specification, embodiments have been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof. It will be evident that various modifications may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the embodiments disclosed herein as set forth in the following claims. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative sense rather than a restrictive sense. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method for managing services provided using data processing systems, the method comprising: identifying a change to a subscription for a service of the services provided using the data processing systems; making a first determination regarding whether the subscription is for storage services; in an instance of the first determination where the subscription is for storage services: making a second determination regarding whether the change is an enhancement of the subscription; in an instance of the second determination where the change is not the enhancement of the subscription: performing an action set to limit use of the storage services based on the change to the subscription without depriving a client of all access to data managed by the storage services.
 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein performing the action set comprises: reconfiguring a storage controller hosted by a data processing system of the data processing systems to obtain a reconfigured storage controller, the reconfigured storage controller having asymmetric read performance and write performance to limit access to the data.
 3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein performing the action set comprises: reassigning a storage controller hosted by a data processing system of the data processing systems to process data access requests from other clients to obtain a reconfigured storage controller, the reconfigured storage controller limiting access to the data.
 4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein performing the action set comprises: reconfiguring a network that connects a data processing system of the data processing systems to a storage device to reduce allocated bandwidth for traffic between the data processing system and the storage device, the reduced allocation of the bandwidth limiting access to the data.
 5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein performing the action set comprises: reconfiguring a storage manager of a data processing system of the data processing systems to reduce a number of access options for the data.
 6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein reducing the number of access options comprises: preventing parallel read on a volume used to provide the storage services.
 7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein reducing the number of access options further comprises: preventing parallel writes on the volume used to provide the storage services.
 8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein reducing the number of access options further comprises: preventing metadata reads on the volume used to provide the storage services.
 9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein performing the action set comprises: converting a redundant array of disks implementation to a high reliability, low accessibility implementation, the redundant array of disks implementation providing redundancy for data stored as part of the storage services.
 10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein in an instance of the change in the subscription where the change is an expiration of the subscription, performing the action set comprises: automatically implementing a disablement action by a data processing system of the data processing systems, the disablement action being scheduled for performance as part of establishing the subscription.
 11. A non-transitory machine-readable medium having instructions stored therein, which when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations for managing services provided using data processing systems, the operations comprising: identifying a change to a subscription for a service of the services provided using the data processing systems; making a first determination regarding whether the subscription is for storage services; in an instance of the first determination where the subscription is for storage services: making a second determination regarding whether the change is an enhancement of the subscription; in an instance of the second determination where the change is not the enhancement of the subscription: performing an action set to limit use of the storage services based on the change to the subscription without depriving a client of all access to data managed by the storage services.
 12. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 11, wherein performing the action set comprises: reconfiguring a storage controller hosted by a data processing system of the data processing systems to obtain a reconfigured storage controller, the reconfigured storage controller having asymmetric read performance and write performance to limit access to the data.
 13. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 11, wherein performing the action set comprises: reassigning a storage controller hosted by a data processing system of the data processing systems to process data access requests from other clients to obtain a reconfigured storage controller, the reconfigured storage controller limiting access to the data.
 14. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 11, wherein performing the action set comprises: reconfiguring a network that connects a data processing system of the data processing systems to a storage device to reduce allocated bandwidth for traffic between the data processing system and the storage device, the reduced allocation of the bandwidth limiting access to the data.
 15. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 11, wherein performing the action set comprises: reconfiguring a storage manager of a data processing system of the data processing systems to reduce a number of access options for the data.
 16. A data processing system, comprising: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor to store instructions, which when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations for managing services provided using data processing systems comprising the data processing system, the operations comprising: identifying a change to a subscription for a service of the services provided using the data processing systems; making a first determination regarding whether the subscription is for storage services; in an instance of the first determination where the subscription is for storage services: making a second determination regarding whether the change is an enhancement of the subscription; in an instance of the second determination where the change is not the enhancement of the subscription: performing an action set to limit use of the storage services based on the change to the subscription without depriving a client of all access to data managed by the storage services.
 17. The data processing system of claim 16, wherein performing the action set comprises: reconfiguring a storage controller hosted by a data processing system of the data processing systems to obtain a reconfigured storage controller, the reconfigured storage controller having asymmetric read performance and write performance to limit access to the data.
 18. The data processing system of claim 16, wherein performing the action set comprises: reassigning a storage controller hosted by a data processing system of the data processing systems to process data access requests from other clients to obtain a reconfigured storage controller, the reconfigured storage controller limiting access to the data.
 19. The data processing system of claim 16, wherein performing the action set comprises: reconfiguring a network that connects a data processing system of the data processing systems to a storage device to reduce allocated bandwidth for traffic between the data processing system and the storage device, the reduced allocation of the bandwidth limiting access to the data.
 20. The data processing system of claim 16, wherein performing the action set comprises: reconfiguring a storage manager of a data processing system of the data processing systems to reduce a number of access options for the data. 